Punting Issue at Cowboys' New Stadium

A quirky issue arose with the Dallas Cowboys' palatial new $1.2 billion stadium during Friday night's preseason game against the Tennessee Titans:

The massive video board hanging over the field is low enough to be hit by punts.

The Titans' A.J. Trapasso sent a punt off the board during the game. By rule, it was called a dead ball and the punt play was repeated.

Trapasso and veteran punter Craig Hentrich told reporters that they'd sent punts off the video board repeatedly during pregame warmups.

"It is an issue," Titans Coach Jeff Fisher, the co-chairman of the NFL's competition committee, said after the game, according to the Tennessean. "Both of our punters hit the scoreboard, so something needs to be worked out."

According to the newspaper, Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said: "They definitely have a problem with the low scoreboard. If our rookie punter punted one into the scoreboard, I am sure once the regular season gets cranked up and guys get going they are going to have scoreboard issues."

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said there's not a problem.

"If your desire is to punt the ball straight up and hard, I can do that," Jones said, according to the Dallas Morning News. "The height that we've got it wouldn't [affect] normal kicks unless somebody just wanted to hit it."

The board reportedly is 90 feet above the field and stretches from roughly one 20-yard line to the opposite 20-yard line. It is 72 feet tall and 160 feet long, according to the Cowboys.

The issue is to be reviewed by the league and might be discussed by members of the competition committee, according to multiple reports.

Comments

Last I checked, words can have multiple meanings. If you look it up, issue is synonymous to problem in the dictionary. Maybe YOUR education system is beyond sick.

Posted by: wisdom80 | August 22, 2009 8:02 PM

It is not an issue. It is a problem. An issue is something you debate and maybe do something about, e.g., Should there be a national military draft?

A problem is something you have to do something about. Like, the brakes on my car not working is a problem, not an issue.

Problem, issue; problem, issue. Our education system is beyond sick.

Posted by: killerbee81 | August 22, 2009 6:16 PM

I'm a Skins fan, and thus a Cowgirl hater, but Jones is a much better owner than Danny Boy. At least Jones played (in college) and was smart enough to hand the keys over to Jimmy Johnson (doesn't he drive Nascar?) and won some Super Bowls.
The way Danny boy runs the Skins, it looks like he'd rather play with his big, expensive toy and lose than turn it over to a real G.M. and stay out of the way to win.
If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, then Danny boy is clinically insane.
Posted by: 0121 | August 22, 2009 3:16 PM
=================================

Yeah, Jones is just sooo smart!! He had to put his nose into Jimmy Johnson's business and Johnson said later!! He did the same thing with Bill Parcells!!
Oh, and he was so smart he fired the legend Tom Landry!!
Now he has put himself and his son in the GM position!!! Brilliant!!!!!

Posted by: dkidwell61 | August 22, 2009 5:10 PM

I'm a Skins fan, and thus a Cowgirl hater, but Jones is a much better owner than Danny Boy. At least Jones played (in college) and was smart enough to hand the keys over to Jimmy Johnson (doesn't he drive Nascar?) and won some Super Bowls.

The way Danny boy runs the Skins, it looks like he'd rather play with his big, expensive toy and lose than turn it over to a real G.M. and stay out of the way to win.

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result, then Danny boy is clinically insane.

Posted by: 0121 | August 22, 2009 3:16 PM

Contrary to his statement, I don't believe Skeletor could punt the ball 90 feet straight up and hit his mega-scoreboard.

Posted by: freakzilla | August 22, 2009 1:50 PM

Love it, The cowboys are the dumbest bunch since the three stooges. GO SKINS!

Posted by: tammanyhall2109 | August 22, 2009 12:30 PM

I absolutely love that the Cowboys spent all this time and money on a beautiful brand new stadium, only to have a problem with it that's this stupid.

Go Skins.

Posted by: smutsboy | August 22, 2009 12:10 PM

That TV is so big to be obscene. I guess they can either dig the field down another 10 feet if raising the giagantic-o-tron is not an option. The people in the bleacher seats will spend more time watching the game on the screen than by looking down at the field, making the experience that much more surreal.

Posted by: ozpunk | August 22, 2009 12:03 PM

Jerruh is an idiot. If he watches his team play with any regularity, he will recognize that 90 feet in the air isn't quite enough for the punters to avoid.